Improved valve-bung



trienio lmrnivr FLORIAN DAHIS, OF VILLIAMSBURG, NEV YORK.

IMPROVED VALVE-BUNG.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FLORIAN Danis, of Villiamsburg, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Valve-Bring for Lager-Beer Kegs; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical central section of my invention applied to a keg. Fig. 2 is a dc tached inverted plan or an inner end view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicale corresponding parts in the two figures.

Thisinvention consists in having a valve fitted in a wooden bung, and arranged in a peculiar way, as hereinafter fully shown and described, whereby a very simple, cheap, and efficient self-acting valve-bung is obtained, the valve readily yielding to atmospheric pressure, and opening when the faucet is opened, so that the beer may escape from the faucet, and readily closing by the pressure of the gas within the keg, and excluding the external air when the faucet is closed.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a wooden bung of ordinary form, and e is a passage, which extends from one side of the bung above or at the outer side of the keg down through the center of the bung, said passage terminating in a recess, b, in which a circular disk, e, of rubber, leather, or any suitable flexible material is placed. The recess Z is made of such dimensions as to allow the disk c a certain degree of play up and down therein, and the disk is a trifle less in diameter than the recess, as shown clearly in Fig. l, a space, d, being allowed between the disk and the sides of the recess. The disk o is retained within the recess b by a plate, e, which may be of metal, the plate being secured to the bottom or lowerend of the bung by nails or screws. This plate e is perforated at a point, j', in line with the space d, between the disk c and the side of the recess b, as shown clearly in Fig. I.

The passage a may be formed by boring a hole vertically into the center of the bung at its under side, and boring a hole laterally into the bung to intersect the vertical one. Fig. 1

rIhe bung A is of usual size, and is driven into the bung-hole of the keg in the usual way, the keg being shown in red in Fig. l. It is designed that the brewers supply themselves with these bungs, and that the kegs of beer be provided with them when delivered to their customers. of these bungs is ready for immediate usethat is to say, when the-faucet is driven in the keg and the faucet opened, the pressf ure ofthe atmosphere will immediately force down the disk o, and the air will enter the keg through the space d and the hole f in the plate e.l The beer, therefore, within the keg will flow through the faucet. Vhen the faucet is closed, the gas within the keg will force up the disk c and close the passage a.

From the above description it will be seen that the disk c is simply a valve, and by being arranged as shown it is self-acting. The kegs may be'tapped, and the beer drawn as soon as they are received from the brewer, no adjustment of the bung being required. The bungs may be constructed or provided with the valves c at a trifling cost, not much exceeding the ordinary solid bungs.

(See

This invention, though exceedingly simple,

is important. Lager-beer contains alarge proportion of carbonic-acid gas, and it is important that this gas be retained in the beer. If a small quantity of gas escape, the beer will be proportionably deteriorated; but, as the external air must be admitted within the keg in order to permit the beer to be drawn from the keg, it follows that the beer will be gradually deteriorated as the contents of the keg diminish. In order to prevent the gas escaping more than is necessary, the bung herein described has been devised. The valve c opens and closes simultaneously with the faucet, so that the contents of the keg are not needlessly exposed at any time.

I am aware that bungs have been provided with valves in4 order to allow the external air to enter when the valve is opened; but, as far as I am aware, bungs thus constructed have hitherto been complicated, expensive to manufacture, and required to be adjusted by the consumerthat is to say, applied to each keg when tapped. My invention is used in lieu A keg provided with one.

of the ordinary solid bung, and is fitted in the keg by the brewer. l

These bungs may be constructed nearly as cheap as the ordinary soldwooden bungs.

I do not claim, broadly, a bung` provided with a valve irrespective of the construction and arrangement of the same, for such device has been previously used 5 but,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A bung, A, provided with an air-passage, a, terminating in a recess or chamber, b, in which a disk or valve, c, of rubber or other suitable material, is placed, and secured therein by a plate, e, provided with a hole, f, specifically as and for the purpose set forth.

FLOR-IAN DAHIS. lVitnesses:

WM. TUson, W. HAUFF. 

